Sir Michael, who also appeared with Hoskins in the films Sweet
Liberty and Last Orders, remembered him as "one of the nicest and best
actors I have ever worked with"
.
And Robert Zemeckis, the director of Who Framed Roger Rabbit,
released a statement praising Hoskins for bringing "enjoyment to film
audiences worldwide".

He added: "As for his performance in Roger Rabbit, for all
the special effects and technical wizardry, it was Bob's honesty and the
truth of his performance that made the animated characters believable,
and that was a testament to his real talent."

Dame Helen Mirren, who played the wife of the gangster he
portrayed in The Long Good Friday, also paid tribute, describing him as
"a great actor and an even greater man" whose "inimitable energy...
seemed like a spectacular firework rocket just as it takes off".

Cathy Tyson starred alongside Bob Hoskins in Mona Lisa

"When I worked with him on his iconic film The Long Good
Friday, he was supportive and unegotistic," she went on. "I had the
honour of watching the creation of one of the most memorable characters
of British film."

Those sentiments were echoed by actor Timothy Spall, who said
Hoskins was "an adored man and a deeply respected and admired actor
[who] was able to make people laugh and cry".

Hoskins appeared in Shane Meadows' 1999 comedy drama A Room for Romeo Brass

Made in Dagenham was one of Hoskins' final film roles in 2010

Hoskins, who was born in Suffolk but grew up in London, started
out on the stage before embarking on a television and film career.

On the small screen, he appeared in shows such as Play for Today, On the Move, Van der Valk and BBC drama The Street.

On film, his credits also included Mermaids, Hook, Mrs Henderson Presents and Made in Dagenham.
His last film role was as one of the dwarves in 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Kristen Stewart.

Dame Judi Dench, who starred opposite Hoskins in Mrs
Henderson Presents, told the BBC News website: "I'm so very sorry to
hear this news, and am thinking of his family at this sad time."
Hoskins was Bafta nominated twice prior to his Mona Lisa win, for The Honorary Consul in 1984 and The Long Good Friday in 1982.

He was also nominated for a television Bafta for his role in Dennis Potter's BBC musical drama, Pennies from Heaven.

Hoskins was nominated for a TV Bafta for his role in Dennis Potter's musical drama Pennies from Heaven

He won an International Emmy for BBC drama The Street, in which he appeared with Timothy Spall
(r)

UK film critic Jason Solomons called The Long Good Friday "a great Londoner's movie".

"London ran through him like a stick of rock," he added.

Tributes to the actor have appeared swiftly on Twitter, with Bafta saying it was "deeply saddened" to learn of his death.

Actress Vicky McClure, who worked with Hoskins on Shane Meadows' 1999 film A Room for Romeo Brass, said: "He was one of the best. I feel honoured to have met & worked with him."
Sherlock creator and actor Mark Gatiss, who appeared as Rat
opposite Hoskins' Badger in a 2006 adaptation of The Wind in the
Willows, tweeted a picture of the two together, praising Hoskins as "a true gent and an inspiration".

Stephen Fry added: "That's awful news. The Long Good Friday [is] one of the best British movies of the modern era. A marvellous man."

Did you know Bob Hoskins? What are your memories of
the actor? Had you met or worked with him? What do you feel his legacy
is? Contact us by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with the subject title 'Bob Hoskins'.

Disrupting the lives of the rich and privileged has become the unlikely
centrepiece of the West’s response to President Vladimir Putin’s
intervention in Ukraine.

Another 15 Russian officials were placed on a European Union sanctions list on
Tuesday, banning them from visiting any member state and freezing any assets
they may hold. The previous day, seven Russians received the same treatment
from the US, including Igor Sechin, the chairman of Rosneft, the biggest
traded oil company in the world.

These “targeted sanctions” are designed to exact a price for Mr Putin’s
actions in Ukraine. While America and her allies will not use force, they
will strike against the personal interests of powerful figures around Mr
Putin.

But do measures of this kind have any real impact? Suppose the individuals
concerned have no assets in Western banks – and no great interest in
holidaying in New York, Paris or London? Any influential Russian worth his
salt will, after all, have known for months that sanctions were a strong
possibility. Will they not have moved vulnerable assets beyond reach? Is
this anything more than foreign policy by gesture?

The answer is that sanctions of this kind can and do hurt. For all the bravado
from Moscow, the chances are that Russia’s already troubled economy will
also be damaged.

The first point is that the new restrictions will be damaging even if their
targets hold no assets in Western banks. Every significant bank in the world
conducts business with the US and the EU. That means they will have to apply
these sanctions or risk large fines from American or European regulators.

So the Russians singled out for punishment now bear the financial version of
the mark of Cain. Every bank in the world will have to think twice before
touching them. That will make it difficult for the targets to buy property
or hold assets just about anywhere, not simply in Europe or America.

And there could be more to come. Both the US and the EU have made clear that
more Russians are likely to be singled out. Any international bank will have
to consider carefully before accepting the custom of any Russian who might
end up on a sanctions list.

Then there is the possibility of America and the EU going a step further and
punishing the vital sectors of Russia’s economy. On Monday, a senior US
official said these “very robust” measures “will be imposed” if Russia were
to invade Ukraine. The targets would be Russia’s energy and banking
industries, he added.

If the situation escalates to that stage, then Europe and the US would also
start to pay a price. Punishing individual Russians is a largely cost-free
exercise for the West – after all, the Kremlin has little room for
retaliation for the simple reason that not many Americans or Europeans hold
assets or own homes in Moscow.

Striking the Russian energy industry would be a very different proposition.
The essential facts are that the EU buys about a quarter of its gas from
Russia - and the country is also the world’s biggest oil producer. An
embargo on Russian energy exports would cause a string of European countries
to lose their gas supplies, while attaching a booster rocket to the oil
price.

With these grave risks in mind, the Western powers are holding back from
imposing these measures. If Russia actually starts a new European war by
invading Ukraine, however, then all bets would be off. Under that extreme
scenario, it’s possible to see how Europe and the US could impose an embargo
on Russian energy and suffer far less than their target.

The first reason is simple: just as Arthur Scargill made the cardinal error of
calling a miners’ strike in spring, so Mr Putin has begun threatening
Ukraine at the wrong time of year. In summer, Europe buys very little gas
from Russia. If supplies were to be cut off in the next few weeks, the EU
would have a vital breathing space to adapt existing infrastructure to
supply the most vulnerable countries by the onset of winter.

The pressure placed on the Kremlin, meanwhile, would be severe and immediate.
Oil and gas account for two thirds of Russia’s export earnings, with the EU
serving as by far the biggest customer. Russia needs to sell and Europe
needs to buy, creating a situation of mutual interdependence. But, in the
final analysis, Russia needs to sell that little bit more.

For all Mr Putin’s bombast, the harsh truth is that he leads a country with an
Italy-sized economy. Russia, the biggest nation on earth with a population
more than twice the size of the UK, has an economy 20 per cent smaller than
Britain’s – and barely a tenth of the size of America’s.

In the end, if the rich world gangs up on a country playing in the Italy
league of global economies, then there are no prizes for guessing who will
lose more.

The markets already appear to be factoring in this possibility. Russian
10-year bond yields are 9.7 per cent – higher than those of Greece or
Portugal. Moscow recently had to cancel some bond auctions because there
were not enough takers. Meanwhile, Standard and Poor’s has downgraded
Russian debt to one notch above junk status.

And that is before any sanctions on the country’s economy – as opposed to on
individuals – have actually been imposed. Just the prospect has already
caused significant damage. If these measures were actually to follow, then
Russia would be acutely vulnerable.

This might help to explain why, so far, Mr Putin has held back from invading
Ukraine in the classical sense by sending tanks over its border. Instead, he
has chosen subversion from within as the best way of achieving his goals. In
itself, that amounts to evidence that he is fully aware that the penalties
of escalation would go well beyond disrupting the lives of his well-heeled
colleagues.

About Me

New Trier High School, Winnetka Illinois.... cancer survivor...NYU Grad School of Film and TV...Film Editor....Training Audio/Visual Writer for US Coast Guard...audio visual producer and public relations writer..had some pretty awful bumps along the way (haven't we all) --glad to still be around and in touch with so many friends from the past